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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS T. STANTIAL AAND LOUIS JOHNSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; SAID JOHNSON ASSIGNOR TO SAID STANTIAL.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-SPRINKLER. d

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 549,751, dated November 12, 1895.

Application led March 16, 1895. Serial No. 541,987. (No model.)

To caf/ZZ wil/0m t may concern.-

Beit known that we, OTIs T. STANTIAL and LOUIS JOHNSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented a new and use ful Improvement in Automatic Fire-Sprinklers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in the class of automatic fire-sprinklers in which a nozzle has extending from it a frame affording a bearing for a strut to hold it against the valve for closing the nozzle, the strut involving a collapsible construction, the parts of which are normally sustained against collapsion under the pressure of duid against the valve by a readily fusible joint, the giving way of which in case of lire causes the pressure to collapse the strut and free the valve to open the nozzle.

The object of our invention is to provide a novel but simple construction of collapsible or sectionally separable strut,whereby it shall readily collapse when released by the melting of a fusible joint under the pressure of iiuid against the valve, particularly when assisted by the recoil of a suitable spring confined against the valve and tending to unseat it.

Our invention consists in the general construction of our improved strut, and it also consists in details of the construction and combinations of parts.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in elevation of a sprinkler provided with our improvement; Fig. 2, a sec tion taken at the line 2 on Fig. l, and viewed in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 3, a view in elevation of our improved strut by itself, presenting the side opposite that presented in Fig. l; and Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of details.

A is the nozzle of usualor any suitable construction adapting it to be fastened or coupled in a water-supply pipe in a building equipped with fire-extinguishing apparatus of the character to which our invention relates.

B is a collar screwed upon the nozzle about its mouth and having extended from it a yoke B, at the apex of which is formed a stud r, affording a bearing for the distributing head or disk O, shown as serrated circumferentially and provided with perforations between the teeth, the head being fastened to the stud by means of a nut q.

D is the valve seated against the mouth of the' nozzle A, and by preference against the tension of a spring p, confined by the valve in an annular socket p, formed in the end of the nozzle about its mouth. The valve is normall y held in its position of closing the mouth of the nozzle by a strut or brace E, extending against it from a bearing 0, V-shaped in cross-section in the end of the yoke.

The strut E, as shown, comprises a plate fn, preferably of the approximate U shape illustrated, and provided in one end, at one side of its longitudinal center, with a recess m, forming a tongue Z, which affords bearings at its opposite sides for the arm portions of dogs k lc, fastened to the surfaces of the tongue by means of readily-fusible solder, as indicated at o; in Fig. l. Below the recess mthe plate 'n has a stud ln extending through it and affording, at each side thereof, a fulcrum engaged by a dog kat a recess t therein, and the plate n is straddled by a hooked plate, shown as a fork h, seated at its crotch h. in a notch or seat c' in one end of the plate n, which is provided with a similar notch or seat c" in its opposite end, one end of the plate h being pointed, as shown at o, there to enter a recess o in the center of the valve D, and the opposite ends of the plate being formed into hooks g to engage the heads of the dogs k. As will be seen, the plate h seats at its crotch in the notchz'and the plate n seats at its notch t" on the bearing o at points which are preferably in vertical line with each other, and the plate h inclines to one side of that line downward from its end in the recess o and extends at its hook ends about the heads of the dogs 7c, to the shape of which the hooks should conform, as shown. The ends of the hooks g thus bear against the dogs close to the fulcrum n, so that the dogs will slightly resist being turned by the pressure of fluid (supplemented by that of the spring p, if provided,`) in the nozzle against Ythe valve D, but not sufiiciently to overcome it,the soldering of the dogs at x to the tongue Z adding to them the additional and main resistance to their being IOO so overcome. lVhen the solder-joint which fastens the dogs to the tonguelis melted, the pressure against the valve D forces the plate 71I in the direction of its inclination, thereby causing the hooks g, by their engagement with the heads `of the dogs, to turn the latter on their fulcrum n and enable the pressure to swin the plate 71 outward on the fulerum afforded by its seat in the notch 1', thus collapsing the strut and permittingthe valve to open.

The construction of strut thus described renders it very simple and highly sensitive or eiiieacious in quickly yielding or collapsing in case of lire, since the extent of soldered surfaces to be released by fusion is not only eonugiaratively slight, but is immediately accessible to the heat of the iire, owing to the provision of the recess m, which aiords an airspace, so that the hot air can circulate entirely about the lipl without requiring the entire plate a to be heated to eitect the fusion.

The provision of the two hooks g and dogs 7.: at opposite sides of the plate n, is for bala-nein g the parts; otherwise a hook and a dog on only one side of the plate might be used, and it would be within our invention to do so. Moreover, the strut may otherwise be modiiied in matters of detail Without departure from our invention. Hence we do not limit it to the exact details of construction shown and described.

That We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A strut for an automatic fire-Sprinkler, comprising a plate having fulcrum-stud projections on its sides, dogs secured bya readily fusible junction on opposite sides of said plate to extend across and engage said fulcrums, and a fork-plate straddlin g said fulcrum-plate in inclined relation to its longitudinal center and engaging, at its ends, the heads of said dogs, substantially as described.

2. A strut for an automatic fire-sprinkler, comprising a plate having fulcrum-stud projections on its opposite sides, dogs secured by a readily fusible junction on opposite sides of said plate to extend across and engage said fulerums, and a fork-plate terminating in hooks and straddling said ulcrum-plate in inclined relation to its longitudinal center and engaging at its hook-ends the heads of said dogs, substantially as described.

A strut for an automatic lire-sprinkler comprising a plate provided With a recess in one end forming a tongue, a fulcrum-stud extending' from said plate, a hook-plate confined on said recessed plate in inclined relation to its longitudinal center, and a dog soldered to said tongue to extend across and engage said stud and engaged at its head by the hookportion of said hook-plaie, said recess affording air-space entirely about the solder-joint, substantially as described.

4. A strut for an automatic iirc-sprinkler, comprising an approximately U -shaped plate provided in one end with a recess forming.;l a tongue to one side of the longitudinal center and With a fulcrum-stud beyond the inner end of said recess, a plate seated on said U shaped plate at its recessed end and in inclined. relation to its longitudinal center and terminating in a hook, and a dog soldered toward one end to said tongue and engaged at its opposite end and coniined against the fulcrumstud by said hook, substantially as described.

5. A strut for an automatic fire-sprinkler, comprising a plate n having a seat yL'/ at one end, a seat /L' and a recess m affording a tongue 7 at its opposite end. and a fulcrum-stud a', a forked-plate 7L inclined] y straddling the plate n on the seat i and terminating in hooks g, and dogs 7i: fastened by readily fusible solder to opposite sides of said tongue to bear, near their heads, against the fulcrum, and engaged at the heads by said hooks close to said iul- Crum, substantially as described.

(i. ln an automatic iire-sprinkler, the coinbination with the nozzle provided with a strutbearing and a valve seated against the nozzle in opposition to the pressure therein, el a strut coniined between said bearing and valve and eomprisin g a fulcrum-carrying plate, a iforked hook-plate straddling said iulcrum-plate and inclined to the axis between the bearing poi nts of the strut, and dogs secured by a readily fusible junction on opposite sides of said fulcrum-plate to extend across and engage the fulcrums thereon and engaged at their heads by the hook-portion. of said hooklplaie, substantially as described.

7. An automatic fire-sprinkler comjirising, in combination, a nozzle A provided with a yoke B having a strut-bearing o and carryin a distributer C, a valve D seated against the nozzle and a spring thereon, and a strut formed of a plate nhavin g at one end a scat fr" at which it is supported on said yoke-bearn ing, a seat 'i' and a recess m ailordin g a tongue 7 at its opposite end and a fulcrum-stiul u, a forked-plate inclinedly straddlin g the plate n on the seat 'i to bear at its pointed. end centrally against the valve and terminating at its opposite end in hooks g, and dogs 7c fastened by readily fusible solder to opposite sides of said tongue to bear, near their heads, against the fulcrum, and engaged at the heads by said hooks close to said fulcruin, suliistantially as described.

OTIS T. STANTIAL. LOUIS JOHNSON. ln presence of- M. J'. FROST, J. II. LEE.

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